By SHARMILA NAIR
alltherage@thestar.com.my

AS MUCH as it would be difficult to say goodbye to one of the most awesome movie franchises in the world, there are at least two awesome things about The Twilight Saga coming to an end.

First, the world finally knows who human Bella Swan chose as her life partner (the choice was between Edward Cullen and Jacob Black), and that means that just like the main female lead, we too can move on with our lives.

And secondly, it also means that we will (hopefully) never get subjected to one of the most annoying questions of all time – Team Edward or Team Jacob? – any more.

Based on the hit book series of the same name by Stephenie Meyer, The Twilight Saga has turned many right-minded people into vampire lovers, and got them all hot and bothered with a love triangle between a girl, a vampire (Cullen) and a werewolf (Black). And seriously, there is no point pretending that you have never heard of Kristen Stewart, Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, the three actors whose lives changed almost overnight thanks to the success of the Twilight series. Stewart is currently the highest paid actress in Hollywood, and may never have to work in another film ever again.

Edward Cullen and Bella Swan's love story has got many people hooked.

“If you told me tomorrow that we have to re-shoot some scenes that they (the producers) weren’t happy with, I’d be so happy that I’d start vibrating because I do really enjoy playing this role,” said Stewart, 22 in an interview transcript provided by Nusantara Edaran Filem.

“We got to do it for four years. When you do that, even though it is a bummer to walk away, I look back on it so fondly. It’s something I’ll always have. I’m really thankful for that.”

Life-changing role

Although it must be fun to earn fame and truckloads of money because of one character, one of its downsides has to be getting fans who fail to separate the actors from their characters.

That has been the main “flaw” to their otherwise almost-perfect lives, which the actors always seem to bring up in interviews. It is also the same “problem” faced by most actors from other mega-successful franchises, such as the Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings films. Can you see Daniel Radcliffe as anything other than Harry Potter? No, didn’t think so.

However, the fans aren’t entirely to be blamed for failing to make the distinction as sometimes, the actors themselves have difficulty separating the two.

“After you’ve done three movies, you get to a point where there’s a distinctive understanding of it, so you don’t really know where you end and the character begins. There are certain things where you don’t know if it’s you thinking.

“I’ve spent so much time in Vancouver (Canada) that I’m just like, ‘Edward wouldn’t do that,’ but if someone asks you why, you don’t know why. You’re just like, ‘because I wouldn’t do it’,” said Pattinson, 26.

Working on the big scale Twilight saga has also helped Stewart confirm her conviction as an actress. It has helped her change her perspective about working on blockbuster projects, having assumed initially that it wasn’t the outlet to explore and express her creativity.

“You start a project to finish it. How did it change me? Maybe it affirmed my idea of why I like to do what I do. You don’t always just have to do an indie movie to feel like you’re controlling it with a few people that you really have connected with creatively. You can do it on a bigger scale. Maybe it’s changed my mind about that,” she said.

A new twist

It is really difficult to discuss the latest Twilight installment without giving away too many spoilers for fans of the movies who haven’t read the books. And that’s assuming they have managed to stay in the dark about how it all ends, all these years.

The new movie brings new challenges to all the actors, but the biggest change had to be with playing Bella.

The fact that Bella becomes … erm, an almost spoiler here … a different “person”, had altered the way Stewart usually portrays her character in the Twilight films.

Bella Swan (Stewart) becomes a different 'person' in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two.

“Kristen has done such a good job, over this whole franchise, at playing the perfect awkward, clumsy, relatable (girl).

“Now she’s, all of a sudden, just transformed herself into this sleek, sexy (thing), and it’s a completely different person. It was very impressive for me to see, and I think the fans are going to be blown away as well,” said 20-year-old Lautner who plays Black in the series.

Even Stewart felt excited about portraying her role differently this time around.

“I felt like, ‘Wow, I’m a sports car. Let’s break it in!’ Especially, (since) my favourite part in the book is, ‘Break her in, man! Let’s see what she can do!’.”

However, some of the physically-demanding scenes proved to be a little difficult for Stewart who unfortunately had to use a hand-brace while filming most of the movie. Apparently, it was all due to her oddly-shaped thumbs.

“I have really bad luck with my thumbs. It plagues me, actually. I hurt myself right at the beginning of all my action sequences, so any grimace you see is probably real.

“Physically, this was more challenging than anything because even the way she walks into a room is different than how I (would) walk into a room.”

A successful end

Four years and four movies later, The Twilight Saga is about to come to an end. Although many people may credit the actors for the success of the Twilight films, Lautner believes that the praise belongs to someone else.

“All the credit does go back to the books and the characters that Meyer created. That’s where it all started.

Stewart, Mackenzie Foy and Pattinson in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two.

“We’re extremely honoured to be in the situation to bring those to life, but the characters in the books are what these fans fell in love with. How they (the fans) relate to them, I have no idea. But, I do know that’s where it began,” he said.

Even though the final film is yet to hit theatres, the actors are already talking about a possible reboot of the whole series. Of course, they were just joking.

“I pity the person who takes over my part. I would destroy them. I would make a campaign against them,” said Pattinson.

Not so keen on the idea was Stewart, who believes that the characters have already figured everything out, and that there’s no need to mess with how it all began and ends.

“I have a very insider’s perspective because I played (Bella), but if anything else happened, I swear to god … please leave them alone! They figured it out. Leave them.”